Tears for the Dragon
by whenstarsdie
Summary: "Kill him," Harry jerked his head in Draco's direction, "and we'll kill you." Draco has two visitors to his ward on a chilly night. And the Golden Trio happen to be there to interfere with their plans… OneShot. Please R


Tears for the Dragon

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**Disclaimer**: My claim to owning the character of this story is as true as my claim to Voldemort having an affair with Aragog. Plot belongs to ME, however.

**A/N**: Please pardon all errors. R&R!

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The silence of the night was broken by a loud '_pop_!', followed by another. Hermione Granger's hand flew to her wand, ready to attack if necessary. She crouched behind the bedside table, watching the two intruders intensely.

Not far from her, two other figures had roused from their sleep, watching the cloaked figures with equal interest. A flash of red told her Ron had attempted to attack them, but Harry had held him back. The trio stayed low, waiting for their next move.

"_Silencio_!"

Where had she heard this voice before? It was steely and cold, deprived of any emotions. It had to be-

"Lucius! Lucius, _please_, you can't do this!"

Another voice. She had heard this before, too. She could still remember that day at Diagon Alley when she first heard it. But the voice had lost its calmness and was hysterical and tearful.

"We've spoken about this, Narcissa. Now stand aside or I'll hurt you!" Lucius Malfoy snarled, threatening his wife. Through the moonlight, Hermione could see the two blondes standing before the bed. Lucius had his wand drawn, pointing at the last person in the ward - the immobile figure on the bed. Narcissa's face was tear-stained, looking paler than she usually did. Her hands gripped firmly on her fellow Death Eater, summoning all her might to restrain him.

"Lucius, _please_! He's your son; _our_ son! You can't kill him!" Her eyes drifted to the youngest Malfoy lying unconscious. He was, if possible, paler than her. Bags were under his eyes and his cheeks were hollow. The moonlight illuminated his handsome features. The infamous smirk was no longer on his face, replaced by what appeared to be a sad frown. He looked well-worn from the war, scars and bruises covering his delicate face. A wisp of blonde hair hung over his heavily bandaged forehead which Narcissa gently swept away and planted a kiss on.

"Look at him, Lucius. Look at him. See what this meaningless war has done to him? You can't do this to him Lucius; he had suffered too much." Her tone softened, gazing fondly at Draco.

For a second Hermione thought she was looking at an angel. Narcissa Malfoy certainly did look like one, with long flowing blonde hair and pale skin. She deeply reminded her of the guardian angel her mother told her about. In contrast to his wife, Lucius was Lucifer; evil enough to rob his own flesh and blood of his life.

"Are you not proud of serving the Dark Lord? Though he had lost, he fought bravely! This war is not meaningless, Cissy! Now _move_!"

Hermione was glad to see the war had taken its toil on Lucius too. The smugness on his face was long gone. The air of importance he carried with him was lost since the fall of Voldemort. His well-groomed hair was frizzled and matted to his head. Ever since his escape from Azkaban, she had never seen him looking so shrivelled.

"You can't rob him of his future! His-"

"His future is bleak! His pathetic soul is kept alive only by these spells!"

"How could you say that? He's _your_ only son! Draco will wake up. He _will_; have faith in him!"

"Didn't you hear what the Healers said? They've given up hope on him, and it's time you should too!"

Both voices rose steadily into the night air, unheard by others only by the Silencing Charm on the door. Hermione glanced opposite her, where Ron and Harry lay hidden behind a screen. A few months back, neither were keen to save the boy they now come to visit everyday. She remembered that day clearly. It was a day of triumph, of victory, of happiness and of hope. The Light side had won the war and Voldemort was dead…

The Golden Trio was scouring the battlefield along side the D.A and Order for survivors of the war. They had found Draco slumped against the rubble of a wall, cold as dead but with a faint pulse, bleeding from multiple wounds.

"We should save him," she had told Harry, pity in her voice.

"But he's a Death Eater! He's the _enemy_!" Ron argued. "He should be grateful that we decide to let him rot here instead of in some torture chamber."

"But he's a _life_!" Hermione insisted. "That's what we're here for, to save lives."

"If that's the case," Ron retorted coldly, "Harry shouldn't have killed Voldemort. He's a life too!"

"Ronald Weasly! How could you say that? Talk some sense into him, Harry!"

Both looked expectantly at the Chosen One, who was staring unblinkingly at the limp body. "Take him with us," he said finally, though there was an obvious tinge of reluctance in his voice.

"WHAT! Harry, you're out of your mind! Bloody hell…" Ron grumbled all the way back but made no objection to his decision.

"Lucius…" Narcissa's pleads brought her back to the present. The tears on her face shone in the dim light, expressing her desperateness and grief. "He's suffered enough… please don't…"

"Then I shall end his suffering! Have you forgotten the Dark Lord's orders? _Kill your weak son_-"

"He is dead, Lucius! _Dead_! Will you wake up from your reverie? We don't have to obey his orders anymore."

"You should be ashamed of yourself! The Dark Lord will rise again. And he will reward those who are faithful," the thought set his eyes ablaze. "Even your sister was willing to die for him! She will be remembered for her loyalty."

"Bella died in the hands of Potter. She got what she deserved. She saw it coming when she killed his godfather."

Though Bellatrix Lestrange was dead, Hermione couldn't help but feel her heart stir. Just the thought of the madwoman was enough to make her blood boil. Even as she was lying on her deathbed, she mocked at Harry, cackling evilly. He had been kind enough to finish her off with a quick Avada Kedavra.

"Are you turning against the Dark Lord, Narcissa?"

"He's DEAD!" Narcissa lost her composure, shrieking like a banshee. "Nothing will bring him back, _nothing_! Why kill your son on a dead man's orders-"

Before she could complete her sentence, Lucius had delivered a tight slap across her cheek, the force sending her flying to the other end of the ward. Hermione's hand flew to her mouth. Her grip tightened around her wand so much her knuckles went white. How could Lucius Malfoy hit his own wife? He was ruthless, he was cruel, he was…

"Inhumane creature!"

He stared at his wife's bleeding lip for a second, before turning back to his son. He pointed his wand menacingly at Draco, the snake's eyes glittering dangerously in the dark.

Before those horrid words could spill from his lips, Narcissa had already flung herself between him and Draco.

"If you insist," her voice quavered with a new-found courage, "then take me with him."

Shock marred Lucius' cold features as his wand threatened to drop. Bu then his eyes narrowed and pointed his wand at Narcissa instead.

Hermione glance frantically at Harry, who signalled for her to wait for the right time to strike. She hesitated for a second before sinking back to her original position.

"I'm warning you, woman. Get out of my way or I'll show no mercy."

Narcissa didn't budge.

"Avada Kedavr-"

"Don't move, or I'll raise the alarm."

Hermione looked over at Harry, who had his wand pointed dangerously at Lucius' back. The burning flame behind his eyes intensified as he took a quick glance at Narcissa. How could she have forgotten? Lily Potter had jumped in front of him to protect him from Voldemort and sacrificed herself. Though Narcissa Malfoy was never an acquaintance of his, but her simple action had won Harry's sympathy.

Lucius turned pale; he definitely wasn't expecting any company tonight. "Potter…" he drawled, a hideous smirk on his face, "I see you've come to visit this pathetic son of mine."

"_Expe_-" Harry tried to disarm him but he blocked the spell easily. "You'll never win a duel against me, Potter!"

Though Hermione hated to admit it, Lucius was right. Harry might have defeated Voldemort, but he had the entire Light side helping him. Now, there was only herself and Ron to assist him.

"_Expelliarmus_!" Lucius attempted to deprive Harry of his wand but his best mates blocked the spell, its impact causing him to stagger backwards.

"It's three against two then?" Ron smirked, wand out.

"I don't have my wand," Narcissa spoke softly, not leaving Draco's side. Ron flushed, but made no attempt to correct his statement.

"Kill him," Harry jerked his head in Draco's direction, "and we'll kill _you_."

Lucius let an evil laugh escape from his lips. "It'll take more than pathetic lot to kill me."

Ron took a step closer to him, anger flashing dangerously in his eys, but Hermione held him back.

"That's right puppy, listen to your filthy mudblood master."

"_Impedimenta_!" Ron shouted, but Lucius dodged the spell skilfully.

"Potter…" Narcissa begged, ignoring the blast of the wall beside her, "Potter, _please_, you can stop hi, you _have to_! Don't let him kill Draco…"

"You foolish woman! How can you plead with this halfblood? He's the one who killed your master!"

"Potter…" she continued, totally ignoring her husband, "Please help him…" Tears were streaming down her pale cheeks.

"Silence, Narciss! Now get out of my way!" he hollered; his wand now pointed at her. "I'll kill you both if you don't move!" he warned.

"_Avada Kedavra_!" Jets of green lights fired in all directions, blasting anything that stood in its way.

"Hermione! Are you alright?" Harry called out after the confusion cleared, choking over the smoke.

"I'm fine," she choked, "just a scratch on my arm. How's Ron?"

"He's with me. Pretty shook up though."

A shriek brought their little conversation to an abrupt end. Narcissa Malfoy was slumped beside Draco's bed, tears falling onto his beautiful face Hermione slowly walked towards her, wondering what was the matter.

"Get up, Malfoy. You're crushing him." She told the elder Malfoy harshly, he having fallen on top of Draco.

Narcissa shook her head violently and gingerly pulled Draco's head into her arms, caressing it gently. Hermione took another step forward and yanked Lucius off Draco.

Cold.

She dropped his body and it lay limp on the bed. "No…" she moaned, "not him too…" Dropping down beside Narcissa, she couldn't help but embraced her, tears flowing from her own eyes.

Harry and Ron watched silently as the two women's sobs rang into the cold night. Harry couldn't help but let tears come to his eyes and flow freely for a companion through his teenage years who will never wake up from his eternal sleep.

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**Author's Note**: This was written mainly to kill time, thus explaining the very weak plot. I was aiming to portray a _nicer_ side of Narcissa, hopefully I've achieved it. And the spells that _were_ keeping Draco alive, think of life-support machines.

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